My new setup:

[mwin]

I'm pulling all the guts out of my old watercooled x-qpack and throwing it in something a bit easier to work with. The old box had a CSP-MAG pump, single 120mm BIX radiator, and a Swiftech Storm on a t-lined loop. The new box is using a Petra topped DDC+ pump, Swiftech Storm, a Maze4 on the GPU, dual 120mm Black Ice GT radiator, and a Danger Den dual 5.25" bay reservior. I'm cramming this all in a Lian Li black PC-50G case. This will be my first setup that isn't all 1/2" ID tubing. I'm running 1/2"ID from the reservior to the pump's intake, and 3/8" ID from the pump outlet all the way through the loop. I've got a pile of pictures taken of my progress thus far that I'll get up this afternoon.

 

[Arcygenical]

Can't wait .

 

[dogbyte_13]

nice case, cant wait to see how it works out, but i have a question, where are you going to put the rad? in the front and remove the drive cage?

 

[mwin]

Well, I made some more progress tonight. Unfortunately, I don't have any way to open up a hole in stainless steel. Therefore, I'm going to have to wait 'til tomorrow or Sunday when I can hit up my dad's garage. Here are a few pictures of the progress...

Here's the Stock DDC+

Here it is disassembled:

With the Petra top on it (note, it's got a 3/8" fitting on there now, but the intake will be 1/2"):

The old setup, I'm starting to take it apart:

The old setup, all over the bathroom:

Corrosion in the Storm:

Soaking Storm in Vinegar:

The new case, complete with hole for the radiator:

Mobo and 7800GTX out of the old setup:

Naked 7800GTX:

 

[mwin]

The little jets in the Storm were all full of corrosion. I haven't taken it apart and looked at it, but I'll bet that's what killed my CSP-MAG. It took me quite a while, but I finally got them all cleaned out, and the block mounted on the mobo:

 

[mwin]

Maze4 on the 7800GTX:

 

[Arcygenical]

That's the reason I dont use the storm...

The extra 2-3'c difference over my TDX just doesn't warrant the upkeep for me .

Anyways, looking good... What do you have for over that radiator hole?

 

[shawnol]

nice new case idea.



*..can i buy your qpack?

 

[mwin]

Couple of more updates:

Doing some test fitting with a dead X-Connect:

What it looks like without the power supply in the way:

 

[mwin]

That's the reason I dont use the storm...

The extra 2-3'c difference over my TDX just doesn't warrant the upkeep for me .

Anyways, looking good... What do you have for over that radiator hole?

I like the TDX that I've got on my other machine alot better. I bought into the Storm hype so when I first built that machine, I had to have one. This is supposed to be a project on a budget, so I didn't replace it...but I kindof wish that I had.

*..can i buy your qpack?

I've cut away a big chunk of the motherboard tray that sits above the I/O panel (so the fittings on the radiator could point into the case) and it's got a big hole cut in the bottom...but the cover has never been on it, and the windows still have the original film. If you still want it, $20 + shipping.

 

[mwin]

Anyways, looking good... What do you have for over that radiator hole?

This is what will go in that hole, I've got to open up the holes in the grill for the fans before I can actually mount it. Probably get than done tomorrow. It's a Black Ice GT with the medium speed Scythe S-Flex fans in it.

 

[mwin]

Getting closer...

 

[mwin]

Watercooling all hooked up:

Filled up and leak testing:

Radiator and grill all mounted up:

Trying to show off the rippling of the water (without taking the protective tape off the front of the res):

My other watercooled rig uses a D5, turned down somewhere in the 1 or 2 range, with 1/2" ID tubing. I think I'm getting more water action with the new rig (which, in my mind, would indicate more flow) with mostly 3/8" ID tubing. This DDC+ is just as quiet as the turned down D5, too (which is why it was turned down in the first place).

 

[Arcygenical]

I love the orange coolant... The more I see it the more I realize it wont fit with my colour scheme .

 

[mwin]

...

My hose clamps for the .5" ID tubing are too big. I'm not getting a good seal around the outlet on the reservior and the intake on the pump. Slow leaks. Going back to the hardware store tomorrow, see if I can find the right ones.

 

[MadWombat]

I have the same case and just ordered all the watercooling stuff for it, should be here in a few days.

I went with the TDX, Asetek NB waterblock, waiting on the GPU waterblock as I may get an 8800. I am using the same pump and 3/8ths line. I am going to go without a res and use a single 120 rad and see if it can handle it, if it cant i will add another. I am going with the DD Stealth rad. I am hoping to fit it on the bracket with the side fan above the powersupply and then if I need another radiator I will try and put one in the front, in front of the hard drive cage, or maybe a bay style radiator, i think thermaltake makes one.

Glad to see someone else using the same case as me though.

 

[mwin]

I have the same case and just ordered all the watercooling stuff for it, should be here in a few days.

I went with the TDX, Asetek NB waterblock, waiting on the GPU waterblock as I may get an 8800. I am using the same pump and 3/8ths line. I am going to go without a res and use a single 120 rad and see if it can handle it, if it cant i will add another. I am going with the DD Stealth rad. I am hoping to fit it on the bracket with the side fan above the powersupply and then if I need another radiator I will try and put one in the front, in front of the hard drive cage, or maybe a bay style radiator, i think thermaltake makes one.

Glad to see someone else using the same case as me though.

You'll probably be fine with the single 120mm radiator. When this computer was in the little box it used a single BIX radiator (but the GPU was air cooled). My big box uses a single BIX for the FX-55 and the 6800GT. Temperatures aren't stellar on that one, but it's quiet.

 

[mwin]

Interesting effect:

Don't guess it quite bleeds instantly...

 

[mwin]

Oh yeah...it doesn't seem to be leaking any more.

 

[mwin]

I am going with the DD Stealth rad.

I've got the dual version of that radiator.

 

[Arcygenical]

I've got the dual version of that radiator.

I *HAD* that radiator .

Till I put a screw through one of the tubes :'(

 

[mwin]

I *HAD* that radiator .

Till I put a screw through one of the tubes :'(

I probably would have, if I hadn't seen the "don't screw the screws in too far" warning thing in the box. On both my old BIXes, you could just run sheetmetal screws into the fins. Run as long of a screw as you wanted to, pretty much.

 

[Arcygenical]

Yeah, same here... There was no "WARNING" on my GT, however :'(... I've installed literally 14-15 BIP's so I didn't even bother to check.

HWlabs acknowledged the issue but still wouldn't help me out. Yeah, sure it was my fault... but I mean, really...

 

[indokyne]

more pics please.

 

[mwin]

Here's how it sits, right now:

I've got to clean up the wiring on the inside and top off the coolant...then it'll be all finished up...pretty much.

 

[MadWombat]

Finally got my setup all done. I'm getting temps of around 47c with the e6400 clocked to 3.2ghz, not sure if thats good or not. I have an RBX, Asetek NB cooler, BIX Stealth radiator, swiftech 350 pump and the swiftech mcres-1000 reservoir.
I have a couple pics but no way to get them on the site. If you can help with that, let me know. I'd like to get opinions on my setup. Thanks.

 

[indokyne]

more pics more pics more pics

 

[mwin]

Alright, here ya' go:

Power supply hanging out the side:

Power supply taken apart and new fan:

Power supply all put back together, with new fan:

Power supply all mounted up:

Problem area with wire cleanup:

Wire hiding spot:

What it all looks like, right now:

 

[mwin]

I've been working on my controller software for the LCD screen. It's coded up as a CPU usage monitor, here's what that looks like:

The flash washed it out, which sucks, but the LCD matches the orange-reddish hue of the coolant almost perfectly. Maybe I'll get an image that captures that better in the future.

 

[crackedcornish]

I hope that's not the POS psu that came stock in your Qpack! As you know they are famous for taking your hardware out with them when they decide to call it quits. Please change it out before we read a thread about your dead system.
Other than that, I think your rig is pretty cool!
I love the orange coolant, what did you use for coloring? Is it a dye or an antifreeze?

 

[indokyne]

awesome.

could you do me a favor and post a pic looking up at the radiator to see the type of clearance you have?

thanks.

 

[walwalka]

looks good dude

 

[mwin]

I hope that's not the POS psu that came stock in your Qpack! As you know they are famous for taking your hardware out with them when they decide to call it quits.

I wondered if anybody would notice that. It actaully died on me this afternoon. I had an Antec Neo 500W one in it. It's got enough connectors to power five systems, though. There really wasn't room for it. I had used the QPack one for a month or so when it was new, and it worked...so I broke it out of retirement. I don't know if it didn't like the new fan, or if it was just its time. Left it running, came home and it was off, couldn't get it to power up. Plugged in the Antec supply, away it goes. There just isn't room for the tangled mess of wires in this case. So I'm hunting for something modular.

I love the orange coolant, what did you use for coloring? Is it a dye or an antifreeze?

It's that "Dex-cool" orange antifreeze.

 

[dVeLoPe]

I bought a ThermalTake ToughPower 750Watt which is modular you should look into it.

 

[MadWombat]

I am using the corsair 620 watt modular PSU and its pretty nice. very quiet.

 

[MadWombat]

Not sure if my setup is working very optimally. My CPU is running around 50c. Its a 6600 OCed to 3.2 Ghz, that might be whats going on, but not real sure.

I have the front fan sucking air through the radiator and out the front and the rear sied fan is sucking air into the computer. anyone have any suggestions? if I cant get it any cooler with this setup, I may copy Marks with the dual radiator on top.

 

[mwin]

That doesn't sound bad with the overclock. My 4000+ (stock clocked) loads in the mid-40's. The ambient temperature in the room with your computer will play a big role in how low (or high) your temps will get. I wouldn't worry about the actual temperatures that get reported, as long as you're stable and under the operating range for your processor.

 

[MadWombat]

Ya. its perfectly stable. I havent checked the load temps, but I've been playing games on it OCed since and its never given me any issues.

 

[mwin]

My system quit on me a few weeks ago. I finally got around to getting around to trying to fix it. A troubleshooting addition to my little work log:

Here's what it looked like sitting on the work bench. It seemed like the motherboard died a couple of weeks ago:

So I bought this:

I pulled the motherboard and everything else out of the case. Here's the empty hulk:

The old motherboard:

New motherboard with processor and ram in it:

Getting it together:

Powered, hard drives:

At this point, I still got nothing. The fans would cut on, but I never would get an image. I eventually discovered that it was a bad stick of ram. It isn't clear if it died on it's own, or the motherboard took it with it, or if this was the problem all along... I'll investigate further in the future...

Signs of life!!

Windows never would boot for me after the new motherboard. Not even in safe mode. So I'm reloading it, and we'll see what happens.

 

[mwin]

I might have just had the other stick of ram in the wrong slot.. It would have been nice if the DFI manual had specified how you were supposed to arrange the ram sticks. Anyway, maybe it was just the old motherboard.